Chapter 510: The Last Ally

The office fell silent once again.

Although that was easy to say, if they still couldn’t find a solution, Gutfreund’s fate would still inevitably be forced resignation.

The two of them just sat there like that, looking at the desk piled high with documents in front of them, not knowing what to think.

Just at that moment, Gutfreund’s gaze fell upon the list at the edge of the desk.

Over the past few days, the secretary’s office had already recompiled everyone who might be able to help.

Banks were only willing to maintain existing credit, and political circles had all started dodging phone calls.

Insurance companies and institutional clients considered their own money first.

As for their Wall Street peers—Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley probably hoped more than anyone that Salomon would keep bleeding so they could take advantage of the opportunity to take over clients and traders.

He had originally prepared to push the list aside, but his attention was drawn by something on it.

One of the lines read:

S.A. Investment. Agreement Status: Active.

He stared at that line for a few seconds.

"Has Saionji reduced their business recently?"

Williams didn’t react for a moment.

"What?"

"S.A.—"

Gutfreund raised his hand and tapped the list.

"After the scandal came out, did they move away any of the trades that originally went through us?"

"There’s no obvious change."

Williams thought for a moment.

"None. Daily contact is normal, and transactions within the scope of the agreement are also being executed as usual. Tokyo hasn’t sent any formal documents regarding adjusting the cooperative relationship."

Gutfreund nodded and didn’t continue asking.

He leaned back into his chair again, resting both hands on the armrests.

Saionji and Salomon had no competitive relationship.

What Saionji did was utilize Salomon’s trading capabilities, clearing network, and Wall Street channels to complete its investments in the American market.

As long as Salomon was still alive and operating normally, the cooperation between both parties had a natural foundation of interest.

And if something went wrong with Salomon—

Satsuki would also be affected.

The scale of the positions she held and managed through Salomon was extremely large. Switching to another brokerage wasn’t impossible, but the time and friction costs would not be small either.

Especially for those complex derivative positions, if Salomon suddenly collapsed, the liquidation process itself could cause additional losses.

What did this mean?

It meant that Saionji had the motive to help Salomon survive.

The string in Gutfreund’s mind that had been taut for weeks suddenly vibrated in another direction.

"Pull up Saionji’s recent public data."

Williams raised his head.

"Saionji?"

"Yes, from the last two or three months. Market news, finance-related news, investment trends—bring over whatever you can get."

Williams looked at him for a few seconds. Without questioning the reason, he got up and walked out.

When the materials were brought in, they weren’t very thick.

The first few pages were all things they already knew.

After June 27th, Saionji had not noticeably contracted its investments.

The Odaiba project continued to advance.

Existing assets in the United States were not withdrawn.

S.A.’s trades in New York and London hadn’t stopped either.

When Gutfreund flipped to the third section, the speed of his page-turning slowed down.

"FamilyMart, Ryohin Keikaku, PARCO."

He read out three names.

Williams saw it too.

"Japanese media started reporting on it last week," Williams explained. "Saionji has officially launched equity transaction negotiations regarding FamilyMart and Ryohin Keikaku with Tsutsumi Seiji’s side. Both FamilyMart and Ryohin Keikaku involve operational control. On PARCO’s side, they are preparing to acquire a significant shareholder position."

"What about the price?"

"It hasn’t been made public yet."

Gutfreund looked over it once more.

Less than three months had passed since June 27th.

The Soviet Union had suddenly undergone drastic changes again.

Domestically in Japan, there were still Odaiba and a large number of other projects.

At a time like this, Satsuki unexpectedly still had the spare capacity to simultaneously push forward several new acquisitions.

Was this Saionji’s financial strength... In other words, they still had capital.

He raised his head to look at Williams.

"She is even more well-off than we thought."

Williams had already picked up the financial summary further back.

"Yeah, that’s right. We actually know how much money she has."

Gutfreund certainly knew.

Fifty-two billion dollars.

This was the cumulative profit S.A. had realized from Nikkei-related transactions so far.

Deducting the fees taken by Salomon and other institutions, the amount ultimately remaining within the Saionji system still exceeded forty-four billion dollars.

These figures were not estimated by the media.

A large portion of the transactions had been executed firsthand by Salomon itself.

Moreover, quite a bit of that capital was currently parked in American short-term Treasury bills, repos, and money market instruments.

Gutfreund looked at those pages of data.

If Satsuki was willing, she could indeed cough up billions of dollars in a very short time.

But what truly made him start seriously considering this matter was not this sum of money after all.

"If Saionji publicly confirms that it will continue to fulfill the three-year agreement and hand over subsequent large-scale business in the American market to us for execution—this matter itself is client endorsement."

Williams chimed in, "Other clients in Asia and Japan, if they see that Saionji hasn’t pulled out, will at least reconsider whether it’s really necessary to run away right now."

"Right."

"If she further provides long-term capital, or a backup credit arrangement—"

"Those counterparties who are sitting on the fence will at least feel that Salomon won’t suddenly collapse in the short term," Gutfreund took over Williams’s words. "Just this single point alone is more effective than us saying ’well-capitalized’ a hundred times ourselves."

The atmosphere in the office was now completely different from ten minutes ago.

Williams looked at Gutfreund’s face and discovered that the gloomy tone that had been pressing between his brows for the past few weeks showed the first signs of loosening.

"And—"

Gutfreund paused.

He looked at the materials on the desk, then looked at the grayish sky outside the window.

"She is not Buffett."

After these words were spoken, both of them fell silent for a few seconds.

Williams spoke first: "You mean, she has no reason to demand that you step down."

"It’s business between her and me."

Gutfreund’s tone became steady.

"Salomon makes money for her, and she has also made Salomon a lot of money. There is cooperation and game theory between us, but no personal grudges."

He placed the pen in his hand onto the desk.

"Warren is different. Warren is a shareholder, a board member, and he has always had his own views on how this company should be managed and who should manage it."

"Once things escalate to the point where he has to step in, the first thing he will do is wield the knife against the entire management team."

"Saionji doesn’t have that kind of baggage. What she cares about is whether her trades can still be executed normally, whether her assets still have a safe counterparty, and how much Salomon is worth to her as a channel."

Gutfreund lightly tapped the desktop.

"If what I propose to her is an upgrade in cooperation—expanding Saionji’s financial business arrangements in the United States, renegotiating the agreement framework, and introducing capital support—this can completely be packaged as a strategic cooperation that benefits both parties."

"Instead of Salomon crying out for help to its shareholders."

"Right."

Gutfreund looked at Williams.

"These two things look alike, but their essences are completely different."

Williams thought for a moment.

"There is a problem."

"Speak."

"The June 27th incident was only three months ago."

Gutfreund had already thought of that.

"She suffered an attack on her home soil in Japan, and the things involved behind it haven’t been fully investigated even now. You’re inviting her back to the United States now—"

"That’s precisely the point."

Gutfreund instead took over the topic.

"If she is truly willing to come to New York at this time and sit down with Salomon to talk about expanding cooperation, do you know what kind of signal this will send?"

Williams raised his eyes.

"Everyone on Wall Street will see it—a Japanese entrepreneur who was just shot within Japan’s borders flying back personally three months later to sit at the same table with the CEO of Salomon Brothers to talk business."

Gutfreund didn’t continue speaking.

The power of such a visual itself could not be replaced by a statement or a wire transfer.

Williams sat there thinking for a long time.

"Even if all this is right..." he finally said. "Are you sure she will agree?"

Gutfreund stood up, and this time his movements were more decisive than they had been in the past few weeks.

"I’m not sure."

He walked over to the telephone beside the desk and pressed his secretary’s extension.

"Mary."

"Yes, Mr. Gutfreund."

"Connect me to Tokyo."

He paused for a moment.

"Prepare to issue a formal invitation to Saionji Satsuki in my personal name."

"The reason is to re-discuss the follow-up arrangements of the two-party three-year cooperation agreement, the expansion plan for Saionji’s American business, and long-term cooperation in the Asian market."

Gutfreund thought for a moment and added another sentence:

"Put capital cooperation into the negotiable scope as well."

"Understood."

"Also, tell Tokyo."

Holding the phone, he looked out the window.

"John Gutfreund hopes to talk with Miss Saionji in person."

"The sooner the better."

...

Tokyo.

Saionji Main Residence.

"Alright, I understand."

Satsuki sat on the study’s sofa, finished listening to the explanation from the other end of the phone, and lowered her head to glance at the schedule that had just been delivered.

"Please convey to Mr. Gutfreund that I accept his invitation. Have our people coordinate the specific time; as for me... next week should be manageable."

The woman on the other end of the phone visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

Satsuki thought for a moment and added:

"S.A. currently has no plans to adjust the three-year cooperation agreement; let him not worry about this point."

"As for other matters, let’s talk about them after I arrive in New York."

"Alright, thank you very much, Miss Saionji. I will convey it completely."

"Sorry to trouble you."

Satsuki hung up the phone.

The study fell silent once again.

She lowered her head to turn the page of the schedule, and picked up the nearby materials concerning Salomon Brothers to glance over them for a few moments.

Then she reached out and grabbed another phone.

This number was clearly already memorized very well, and Satsuki didn’t even bother flipping through the address book.

After pressing down the final digit, she placed the receiver to her ear.

Just as the line connected, someone on the other end picked up the phone.

Without even going through a secretary’s transfer.

"Hello?"

Warren Buffett’s own voice came straight out from the receiver.

The corners of Satsuki’s mouth curved up slightly.

"Mr. Buffett."

"Miss Saionji?"

"Just now, Mr. Gutfreund formally invited me to New York."

The other side of the phone fell silent for a moment, and a light chuckle came through.

Satsuki also smiled along, her mood evidently quite good.

"I’ve already agreed to it."

She reached out and flipped that set of materials to the next page.

"So—"

"Mr. Buffett, I think our cooperation can have some new progress."